The pleasure of observing has certainly rounded the work of Eric Fischl and made it being perceived as an ode to various aspects of voyeurism. The very act of observation is inherent to human nature and starting from that commonplace the artist starts processing and articulating his thoughts and ideas. By carefully selecting random situations from both his personal and professional life, Fischl intersects certain social mechanisms and creates narratives filled with humor, sensuality, and intrigue. As a matter of fact, his works can be seen as metaphors of contemporaneity since they function as notes of the variety of human behavior.

Eric Fischl – The travel of romace, Scene II, 1994

Artistic Development

EricFischl was born in 1948 in New York City. He grew up on suburban Long Island, but in 1967 his family moved to Phoenix, Arizona. Fischl started attending Phoenix College, then switched to Arizona State University, and finally California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California, where he earned his BFA in 1972. Afterward, the artist settled in Chicago, where worked for some time as a guard at the Museum of Contemporary Art. In 1974, he moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia, to teach painting at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, where he met painter April Gornik, with whom he moved back to New York City in 1978.

Eric Fischl uses various media from watercolors to sculpture

Eric Fischl – Untitled, 1999

Shaping The Personal Style

Memories from growing up in suburbia practically shaped Fischl’s oeuvre. The artist was actually focused on the rift between what was experienced and what could not be said. The discovery of Chicago artists from the 60’s gathered around the exhibitions titled Hairy Who or the ones who belonged to the circle of Chicago imagists, profoundly influenced Eric Fischl. Vibrant pallet and explicit imagery he found very appealing and so he decided to appropriate it. His first New York City solo show was at Edward Thorp Gallery in 1979, and soon afterward he received critical attention for depicting the dark, disturbing undercurrents of mainstream American life.

His figuration is always in service of precise narrative

Eric Fischl – Scenes from late paradise, The Parade, 2006

Recurrent Themes in The Works of Eric Fishl

The seriousness of topics such as alcoholism, depression, and poverty was transferred on canvas with great softness and vigor, and therefore Fischl has quickly embraced the description of himself as a painter of the suburbs. Some of Fischl’s earlier works have a theme of adolescent sexuality and voyeurism, while later works operate with socially, even politically more elaborate concepts. Nevertheless, it seems that one of the most frequent issues present in his work is a critique of the art world. From the 80’s onward, Fischl has been cynical about the parties and gallery openings and cocaine and booze and money, which had and still has little to do with his general agenda of coherent art.

The artist often depicts ephemeral events and situations

ric Fischl – Study for Corrida in Ronda, 2008

Eric Fischl As The Curator, Lecturer And Art Critic

Besides fruitful artistic career, Eric Fischl is the founder, President and lead curator for America: Now and Here. This multi-disciplinary exhibition of 150 of some of the Americas most celebrated visual artists, musicians, poets, playwrights, and filmmakers is designed to spark a national conversation about American identity through the arts. About eighteen trucks were custom-designed to serve as mobile galleries traveling to each location, where they will unfold to reveal exhibition space. On the other hand, Eric Fischl is a Fellow of both the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Science and is a senior critic at the New York Academy of Art.

Eric Fischl is known for public works as well

Eric Fischl – Tumbling Woman II, 2014

The Collaborations

Perhaps one of the most interesting projects which somehow extended his interest in voyeuristic experiments is certainly the one released in 2002 at the Museum Haus Esters in Krefeld. It was built by legendary modern architect Mies van der Rohe in 1928, but in recent times it is used as an exhibition space concept of changing exhibitions. Fischl refurnished it as a home and hired models who pretended to be a couple who lived there for several days; he took 2,000 photographs, which he reworked digitally and used as the basis for a series of paintings. Fischl has collaborated with other artists and authors, including E.L. Doctorow, Allen Ginsberg, Jamaica Kincaid, Jerry Saltz and Frederic Tuten.

The active and daring artist with rich career

Eric Fischl – Watch, 2015

The Continuous And Concise Practice of Eric Fischl

The artistic domains of this internationally acclaimed American painter and sculptor have been honored in a number of occasions. His artwork is represented in many distinguished museums throughout the world and has been featured in over one thousand publications, numerous solo and major group exhibitions in many museums, as well as prestigious private and corporate collections. The immense influence on generations of young artists is additionally straitened by the fact that Eric Fischl is still innovative, progressive and one of the most influential figurative painters of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

Eric Fischl lives and works in New York.

Featured image: Portrait of Eric Fischl – image courtesy of Financal TimesAll images used are courtesy of the artist

Useful Resources On Eric Fischl

Year

Exhibition Title

Gallery/Museum

Solo/Group

2014

Eric Fischl

KM fine Arts, Chicago, IL

Solo

2014

Eric Fischl

KM Fine Arts Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA

Solo

2014

Eric Fischl

Albertina, Vienna

Solo

2013

Eric Fischl

Barbara Edwards Contemporary Inc., Toronto, ON

Solo

2013

Eric Fischl

Imago Galleries, Palm Desert, CA

Solo

2012

Dive Deep: Eric Fischl and the Process of Painting

San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA

Solo

2012

Beach Life

Guild Hall Museum, East Hampton, NY

Solo

2012

Dive Deep: Eric Fischl and the Process of Painting

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA

Solo

2012

Eric Fischl

Mary Boone Gallery - 541 West 24 Street, New York City, NY

Solo

2012

Eric Fischl

Mary Boone Gallery - 745 Fifth Avenue, New York City, NY

Solo

2011

Eric Fischl - Early Paintings

Skarstedt Fine Art, New York City, NY

Solo

2010

Eric Fischl

Barbara Edwards Contemporary Inc., Toronto, ON

Solo

2010

Eric Fischl

Jablonka Galerie - Köln, Cologne

Solo

2010

Eric Fischl - Corrida en Ronda

CAC Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Málaga, Málaga

Solo

2010

Eric Fischl

Paul Petro Contemporary Art, Toronto, ON

Solo

2009

Corrida in Ronda

Mary Boone Gallery - 745 Fifth Avenue, New York City, NY

Solo

2009

Eric Fischl

Mary Boone Gallery - 541 West 24 Street, New York City, NY

Solo

2009

Eric Fischl: Beach Scenes: New Work

Baldwin Gallery, Aspen, CO

Solo

2009

Ten Breaths

Galerie Daniel Templon, Paris

Solo

2008

Ten Breaths

Mary Boone Gallery - 745 Fifth Avenue, New York City, NY

Solo

2008

Eric Fischl - Ten Breaths

Mary Boone Gallery - 541 West 24 Street, New York City, NY

Solo

2007

Eric Fischl - ten breaths

kestnergesellschaft, Hannover

Solo

2006

Singular Multiples: The Peter Blum Edition Archive, 1980-1994

MFAH - Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Houston, TX

Solo

2006

Eric Fischl

Thomas Ammann Fine Art AG, Zurich

Solo

2006

Prints and Drawings

Delaware Center for Contemporary Arts - DCCA, Wilmington, DE

Solo

2006

Eric Fischl

Yoshii Gallery, New York City, NY

Solo

2005

Eric Fischl

Jablonka Galerie - Köln, Cologne

Solo

2005

Eric Fischl

Mary Boone Gallery - 745 Fifth Avenue, New York City, NY

Solo

2003

Eric Fischl - The Krefeld Project

Museen Haus Lange / Haus Esters, Krefeld

Solo

2003

Eric Fischl - Gemälde und Zeichnungen 1979-2001

Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Wolfsburg

Solo

2002

Eric Fischl: Photographs: St Tropez 1982-1988

Mary Ryan Gallery, New York City, NY

Solo

2001

Eric Fischl - Paintings

Jablonka Galerie - Köln, Cologne

Solo

2001

Eric Fischl, Watercolors

Baldwin Gallery, Aspen, CO

Solo

1998

Eric Fischl. Recent Paintings & Works on Paper

Galleria Rubin, Milan

Solo

1998

Eric Fischl - Sculpture

Gagosian Gallery , New York City, NY

Solo

1997

Eric Fischl, Works On Paper 1995-97

Baldwin Gallery, Aspen, CO

Solo

1996

Eric Fischl: Prints & Monotypes

Numark Gallery, Washington, DC (closed, 2006)

Solo

1993

Eric Fischl - New Solar Plate Intaglio Prints

Mary Ryan Gallery, New York City, NY

Solo

1992

Eric Fischl: Drawings

Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, AL

Solo

1991

Eric Fischl: Drawings

Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI

Solo

1990

Scenes and Sequences

Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT

Solo

1990

Eric Fischl: Works in Progress

Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN

Solo

1990

Eric Fischl - A survey of etchings, woodcuts and monotypes

Mary Ryan Gallery, New York City, NY

Solo

1990

Eric Fischl Prints, including "Four Etchings"

Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle, WA

Solo

1988

Eric Fischl: Bilder und Zeichnungen

Michael Werner Kunsthandel, Cologne

Solo

1987

Eric Fischl: Scenes Before the Eye: The Evolution of Year of the Drowned Dog and Floating Islands

Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Houston, TX

Solo

1987

Eric Fischl: Scenes Before the Eye

Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis, MO

Solo

1987

Eric Fischl: Scenes Before the Eye

The Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD

Solo

1986

Eric Fischl / MATRIX 103

Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive BAM/PFA, Berkeley, CA

Solo

1986

Eric Fischl: Paintings

Whitney Museum of American Art, New York City, NY

Solo

1985

Eric Fischl: Paintings

Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, SK

Solo

1982

Eric Fischl

Edward Thorp Gallery, New York City, NY

Solo

2014

Modernism from the National Gallery of Art: The Robert & Jane Meyerhoff Collection

The de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA

Group

2014

Legacy: The Emily Fisher Landau Collection

San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA

Group

2014

Stars

Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, New Brunswick, NJ

Group

2014

Initial Public Offering: New Works From Sjma’S Permanent Collection

San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA

Group

2014

The Big Picture

New York Academy of Art, New York City, NY

Group

2013

Cinematic Visions - Painting at the Edge of Reality

Victoria Miro Gallery, London

Group

2013

I, You, We

Whitney Museum of American Art, New York City, NY

Group

2013

Torso

Jablonka Galerie, Köln, Cologne

Group

2012

Under Pressure: Contemporary Prints from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation